Bob Jones University’s annual Homecoming and Family Weekend scheduled for Oct. 6-8 will give alumni, faculty, staff and students the chance to make lifelong memories as they enjoy events all over campus.

Dawn Schlichting, the events coordinator for Alumni Relations, described Homecoming as an event designed to draw alumni back home and to show current students that they are welcomed back when they graduate.

“We want the young alumni to be so excited about their alma mater that when they leave, they’re already thinking in terms of ‘I’m an alum, and I want to come back. I don’t want to wait fifteen years. I don’t want to wait twenty years. I want to come back because this place was so impactful,’” Schlichting said.

The weekend will include Bruins games, class reunions and dinners, among other events. This year, for the first time for a homecoming, BJU will set off fireworks after the Bruins men’s soccer game on Saturday night, which begins at 7 p.m.

Homecoming will also include BJU’s second annual Alumni Awards Ceremony, recognizing graduates for exceptional achievements. This ceremony begins at 11 a.m. on Friday in the Founder’s Memorial Amphitorium and will feature a red carpet and giant cutouts people can pose behind for fun photos. Even Brody the Bruin will be dressed for the occasion in a tuxedo.

Director of Alumni Relations Jeanine Aumiller said she wants the students and alumni to consider BJU their home. “[Homecoming] is a celebration of your BJU; it’s a celebration of my BJU,” Aumiller said. “So, whether you’re a student or you’re that new grad and you’re now an alumnus, Homecoming is a celebration of your BJU. It’s like ownership.”